Texas House speaker candidates at different ends of liberal-conservative spectrum

The ideological location of the 71 returning Texas House Republicans. (PDF)

On Jan. 11, one of the first actions of the Texas House of Representatives will be to elect a speaker. Current speaker Joe Straus is being challenged by fellow Republicans Warren Chisum and Ken Paxton. While Paxton has received the backing of more than a dozen Republican House members, as well as several national political actors, Chisum’s support base is minimal.

As most observers of Texas politics are by now aware, Straus’ ideological orientation (based on his observed behavior) places him in the moderate wing of the House Republican Caucus, though still to the right of all Democratic representatives (see the figure at left or download a full-sized PDF). What has been less publicized is that Paxton’s ideological orientation places him in the conservative wing of the Caucus.

This January, the Texas House Republican Caucus will consist of 101 members, 71 of whom have previously served as representatives, and hence for whom we have comparable information on their ideological orientation based on their past floor voting record (for more information on this Liberal-Conservative Score, see “How liberal or conservative is your Texas state representative?”). Only eight of the 71 returning Republican representatives (including three former Democrats who switched to the Republican party in 2009 and 2010) have voting records that are more liberal than that of Straus, while 62 have voting records which are more conservative. At the same time however, only 10 Republicans have voting records that are more conservative than that of Paxton, with 60 possessing more liberal voting records.

A comparison of the ideological proximity (using the representatives’ respective Liberal-Conservative Scores) of Straus and Paxton to their 69 co-partisans reveals that 32 of the representatives are closer ideologically to Straus than to Paxton, with the obverse true for the remaining 39. While a review of the campaigns and pledge behavior of the 30 Republicans who will be serving their first term in the House suggests a majority may end up occupying a position on the liberal-conservative spectrum somewhat closer to Paxton than to Straus, this certainly will not be the case for all of them.

In the 2011 speaker’s race, the two most viable candidates have ideological positions that place them near the left and right edges of the Republican Party Caucus. As a result, when a majority of Republican House members scrutinize the legislative behavior of Joe Straus, they perhaps find it to be too liberal for their taste, but a majority of these same members possibly also consider Ken Paxton’s legislative behavior to be too conservative for their liking.

Mark P. Jones is the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy’s fellow in political science as well as the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies and chair of the Department of Political Science at Rice University.

6 Responses

The recent elections have proven that the people of Texas want a legislature that will pass anti-amnesty, pro-enforcement, pro-E-Verify immigration policies. Please support a House Speaker who will make this happen. I know, for instance, that Rep. Warren Chisum is one Representative who can make this happen. Another good choice is Rep. Ken Paxton.

Current House Speaker Joe Straus is on the record as saying that Texas needs more illegal immigrants to fill available jobs even though record numbers of Texans are unemployed. Please oppose Straus’ bid to remain Texas House Speaker and please support a Representative that will support pro-immigration enforcement legislation.

Rep. Joe Straus has proven that he does not believe that illegal immigration is a big problem in Texas and he has used his position as House Speaker to prevent anti-illegal immigration bills from being passed. Oppose Rep. Straus’ bid to remain House Speaker so that real immigration reform legislation can be passed.

Current House Speaker Joe Straus is far too ambiguous regarding his stance on amnesty, illegal immigrants, and the importing of foreign workers. The recent elections prove that Texans want pro-enforcement immigration legislation and Straus’ previous actions are proof that he will not let pro-enforcement legislation pass. Please support a Republican Representative for Speaker who will actually support immigration legislation that would make Texans, more safe, more secure, and more prosperous.

Enforcing our Immigration Laws and Securing our National Borders are not partisan, divisive, or polarizing issues! Polls indicate that the vast majority of U.S. and Texas Citizens want our current Immigration Laws Enforced and our National Borders Secured. Politicians without their own or their Elitist Political Contributor’s self serving agenda support their citizens and not their Elitist Contributors.

I go for Straus. He may be at the “liberal” end of House Republicans, but that puts him near the center politically, closer to where most Texas are. He did a good job last session under difficult circumstances, and deserves to be returned to the speaker’s chair.

The majority of Texans are supporting Mr Straus for Speaker. He has proven to be a solid leader who can get things done. The ultra right continues to spread lies and twist his words and record, but no one seems to be buying any of it. He will be elected to a 2nd term as Speaker, a position he has earned, and I am confident he will do an excellent job.

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